All Sorts: Cyclone Gabrielle Recovery Stories

Four community recovery stories filmed for Mental Health Foundation's 2024 Mental Health Awareness Week. After Cyclone Gabrielle devastated communities across Aotearoa, research revealed that connection was the number one thing that helped people get through.

These films celebrate community in all shapes and forms, showing how people found strength through supporting one another, staying connected, and rebuilding together.

The project

All Sorts research into extreme weather events showed that community was the most powerful factor in helping people recover. This became the theme for Mental Health Awareness Week 2024, celebrating how connection protects and uplifts wellbeing.

We filmed four people who were impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle and the Auckland floods, either directly or through whānau, and found their way through by staying connected to community or helping one another.

"These are truly wonderful stories, putting Connect, Give, and Te Taha Whānau into practice and showing that the activity that supports wellbeing is fundamentally collective and community oriented. But theory aside, what beautiful people, what beautiful stories." — Shaun Robinson, CEO, Mental Health Foundation

The challenge was finding subjects who were ready to share. Many people affected by the cyclone were still processing trauma. We conducted dozens of pre-interviews to identify people who had enough distance from the events to reflect on their experience without re-traumatizing them.

Each story was filmed individually, then we created a hero video combining all four stories to show the breadth of community connection across Aotearoa.

The four stories

Tara — Finding Strength Through Supporting Others

A young wāhine based in Tāmaki Makaurau who has struggled with OCD and anxiety for years. When her mum had to evacuate from her home in Puhoi, Tara discovered how strong she was as she supported her whānau through crisis.

Filming with Tara was heartwarming and truly inspiring. Someone who couldn't leave the house for two years bravely told her personal story in front of strangers and cameras. That courage is what makes these stories powerful.

Wallace — Community Champion in Titirangi

A kind hearted man at the centre of a tight knit community in Titirangi. Wallace is a community champion who lives and breathes Pacific cultural values and traditions.

His story shows what it means to be the person everyone turns to, and how that reciprocal care strengthens entire communities. Wallace's story might be the most powerful example of community connection in action.

Shannon — Family and Community in Napier

An awesome young mum of three based in Napier. Shannon went through the scariest experience when she and her whānau had to escape from their flooded home in Pakowhai.

Today, Shannon feels closer than ever to her family and her amazing community that rallied up and supported her whānau in the days, weeks, and months after the cyclone. Her story shows how trauma can deepen connection when communities show up for each other.

Tyson — Kai and Kōrero in Hastings

An amazing tāne based in Hastings who works at Mates4Life, a suicide prevention organization in Hawke's Bay. After the cyclone hit, Tyson was working in the kitchen of his church, serving people and listening to their stories.

He continues that work through Kai and Kōrero, getting people to chat and open up about tough stuff over a BBQ. His story demonstrates how simple acts of service and presence create space for healing.

Finding the right subjects

Not everyone affected by Cyclone Gabrielle was ready to share their story on camera. Some experiences were too recent, too raw. Some people were still in survival mode.

We did dozens of pre-interviews to find people who had:

• Enough distance from the trauma to reflect
• Clear connection to community in their recovery
• Comfort sharing their experience publicly
• Support structures in place
• Complete journey from crisis to current state

The pre-interview process was essential. We needed to ensure filming wouldn't cause harm, and that each person was genuinely ready to revisit their experience.

Filming approach

We filmed each story in locations meaningful to the person. Wallace in Titirangi. Shannon in Napier. Tyson in Hastings. Tara in Tāmaki Makaurau.

Outdoor documentary style let us capture real environments and authentic moments. No studios, no constructed sets. Just people in their communities, telling their stories in places that mattered to them.

We allowed time for people to get comfortable, to find their words, to remember without rushing. The goal was creating safe space for vulnerable storytelling, not extracting content on a tight schedule.

Credits

• Director — Tom Reilly
• Director of Photography — Diego Opatowski
• Second Camera Operator — Grant Ballot
• Sound Mix — Shamir Rodriguez
• Colorist — Colourspace
• Producer — Tihana Babic
• Client — Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand (All Sorts program)
• Campaign — Mental Health Awareness Week 2024
• Featured — Shannon (Napier), Tyson (Hastings), Wallace (Titirangi), Tara (Auckland)
• Theme — Community connection and resilience after extreme weather
• Four individual stories plus one hero video combining all stories
• Campaign ran across online, TV, and cinema nationwide